


Reminiscence of Youth

by Oliver__Niko



Series: SorMik Week 2019 [1]
Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Childhood Memories, Exploration, M/M, Memories, Mikleo's affinity for falling into traps strikes again, Nostalgia, Romance, Sormik Week 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 16:16:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20138329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oliver__Niko/pseuds/Oliver__Niko
Summary: During another day of exploration, Mikleo falls down a trap ... again.As Sorey searches for a way to get him out of there, the two recall memories of when the same situation has happened before.





	Reminiscence of Youth

**Author's Note:**

> Here is my oneshot for day 2 of SorMik Week! This is for white lilac: 'youthful innocence' and 'memories'. I hope you enjoy; it was a blast to write.

An intrigued hum of thought. Curious fingers trailing lightly across the walls, bright eyes taking in every square inch of their surroundings. A candle has been left on the floor nearby to give them light, for no sun reaches here, although the fire is carefully kept away from any structures so not to damage them.

It’s another day of the usual for Sorey and Mikleo, although when you hold a passion for something as stimulating as this, there is always something new. You can never grow tired of an exhilarating hobby.

“There _has _to be some way through,” says Sorey. “They wouldn’t build such a long corridor only for it to lead to a dead end.”

“I agree. It seems like a waste of energy,” says Mikleo.

“Unless there’s meant to be a trap here …”

“Don’t even say it.” Mikleo crouches down by a wall, feeling the stone to see if there are any abnormalities. Sorey begins to do the same higher up, towards the left of them. His heart awaits the thrill of finding something out of place.

Nope. Nothing more than a bleak, stone wall.

There has to be _something. _Sorey and Mikleo are as stubborn as each other, especially in their hobbies. They exchange a glance. A glint of innocent competitiveness says as much as words can; let’s see who can find the way through first.

And so, their search continues. Prodding here and there, eyes straining to see any signs at all. Sorey realises he has focused his mind in the wrong area. He has been paying attention to the walls, rather than at his very feet; he feels a part of the floor sink slightly underneath.

“Aha!” he exclaims, stepping onto it with both feet. It sinks down farther when he puts his full weight onto it.

“Found something?” Mikleo asks, thoroughly disappointed by the thought as he turns to Sorey. The latter grins and gesticulates to the ground.

“I bet there’s a second one like this over there. Go check it out!”

“Right, right,” says Mikleo, who will likely be moody for the next several minutes over his loss. He watches his feet as he walks further away from Sorey. “Nothing is—_oh!”_

He stops on the matching stone to Sorey. They wait for a moment in anticipation. Both shift their gazes to the wall, waiting for something to happen to it. Disappointingly, nothing occurs, causing Sorey to realise this might simply be uneven flooring. Or at least, that crosses his mind briefly, before …

“_Aaarrrgh!”_

… Not again.

“Mikleo!” Sorey yells, running over to attempt to catch Mikleo’s hand as he falls through the floor—his quick reflexes are not quite fast enough, fingertips brushing against each other as Mikleo falls.

Down, down, and then, _“Ouch!”_

“You all right?” Sorey crouches down by the hole in the floor, although when he realises he cannot see a thing down there, he scrambles for the candle left to the side. He hovers it over the hole, the light just managing to reach Mikleo. “Hey! Say something!”

“You’re a jerk! Is that something?” Mikleo shouts back up, rubbing his ankle.

“_Hey! _It’s not my fault this happened!”

“It was _you _who decided to step on those things!”

“Yeah, but _I _didn’t fall! You’re the one who apparently has an affinity for falling into traps.”

Mikleo folds his arms with a huff. “Maybe it’s happened once or twice.”

“A week.”

“Shut up and get me out of here! Don’t you have your grappling hook?”

“I, uh,” says Sorey, searching through the bags attached to his belt. “I might have forgot it today.”

“You—you forgot it.”

“Maybe.”

“_Sorey!”_

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Can’t you use your artes or something to get you up?”

Mikleo sighs, irritated by how _he _is the one who is expected to get himself out of there despite how it’s definitely Sorey’s fault. He conjures his staff, waving it to cast an arte; his hand feels the water to test it. Sorey has no idea what it means, but whatever it is causes Mikleo to shake his head.

“No, it’s no use. It’s not strong enough to blast me _upwards _rather than use gravity to assist me, and I don’t think it could support my weight for long enough, either.”

“But you don’t weigh anything.”

“Neither does water.” Mikleo lets out another sigh, flinching as he straightens himself up; yes, that’s definitely some kind of injury on his ankle. Frustrated, he leans back against the wall, bringing his leg up so he can begin to heal it. “You’ll have to find something.”

“Or I could go back and get my grappling hook?” Sorey suggests, although Mikleo shakes his head.

“We’re already hours in, so that’s me stuck in a damn pit for way too long. What if there’s something down here?”

“Like spiders?”

“Sorey, I’m serious,” Mikleo says in exasperation.

“All right, I’m sorry. I’ll go have a look around; we probably missed something that’s right under our noses.” Sorey gets himself to his feet, glancing around and unable to suppress a smile. “You know, this sure does bring back memories.”

“Of which time?”

Sorey lets out a laugh. “The first time this happened, when we were kids. Do you remember?”

“Oh boy,” Mikleo says, unable to stop his own chuckle. “How could I not?”

* * *

“What do you mean, you _don’t know how to use it?!” _

“I haven’t finished learning yet! It’s tricky!”

Sorey holds the grappling hook in both hands, eyes scanning over it. This is hopeless. It’s like a puzzle only a genius can find the solution to. Do you … throw it? Spin it? What exactly _do_ you do with this?

He tries to think back to when Mason went through the basics. Yet it is one of those concepts which _looks _easy in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing, yet in the hands of a clueless child? There is no chance of figuring this out.

“Um …” says Sorey. He tests the throwing method. It lands uselessly on the ground.

You can _probably _do something with it—he’s certain you do have to throw it somehow—but he can’t imagine it ending well if he attempts to use it on the edge and drop down to get Mikleo. What would happen to them if they both got stuck? Would they ever be found, or would they stay here forever?

Mikleo is thinking the same thing. He sniffs, the beads of tears which have already formed in his eyes beginning to spill. “Get me out! I don’t wanna stay here!”

“I know, I know!” Sorey says. “Don’t cry. You can heal your ankle, right?”

“I’m not as good at healing myself yet,” he says.

“But isn’t it the same?”

“No.” Mikleo sniffs again, wiping at his eyes with his arm. “When I’m healing someone _else, _I feel more worried, and it helps. But I don’t get that way with myself as much.”

“All right, we’ll get one of the seraphim to heal you instead. For now, uh, stay sitting there.”

“Not like I have much choice,” Mikleo mumbles. He shakes his head, dirt scattering from his hair to the ground.

Meanwhile, Sorey has the mature responsibility of getting his best friend out of a pit. If there is a way for the trap to have opened, there must be some way to get down there, right?

He doesn’t say it aloud, because he knows it would likely freak Mikleo out, but say if this trap had theoretically been used to stop trespassers who will be killed … There must have been a way for the people who owned this place to get down there themselves.

Or at least, this is what Sorey tells himself as he searches around. He and Mikleo might already be intelligent for their age. However, intelligence can only go so far without experience. Sorey scrutinises every little area of this section of the ruins. His small hands run over surfaces—carefully, so not to set off another trap—and his bright eyes squint to inspect everything.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

“Sorey!” Sorey’s heart leaps when he hears that Mikleo’s sobs have carried on. “I wanna go home. This isn’t fun anymore!”

“I’m sorry, I can’t find anything,” says Sorey guiltily. He crouches down by the hole, looking down at Mikleo. “I might have to go get help.”

The expression that Mikleo gives him might as well have been the result of Sorey suggesting that a pack of wild dogs fetch Mikleo out of there. “Don’t do that! Gramps will kill us!”

“Then what else are we supposed to do? Leave you down here forever?”

“W-Well …” Mikleo stutters.

“See? I don’t know what else to do. I can’t use this grappling hook without Mason telling me what to do, and I really can’t find anything.”

“What if Gramps tells us we can’t go exploring again?”

Sorey shakes his head. “Nah, I won’t let that happen. He’ll get mad sure, but I bet if we promise to be _really _careful, he’ll let us off eventually. But I thought this would’ve made you not want to do this again.”

“I mean, I’d _rather _not fall down any more traps, but,” Mikleo peers up past Sorey, still able to see the impressive walls and vines growing across them, “I was having fun, before this happened. So I’d like to carry on.”

“Then I promise that we’ll come again and we’ll get around Gramps.”

Mikleo contemplates this for several moments before he nods. “All right. Try not to take too long. You can make your way back here, right?”

“Yup, I left a trail, remember? And here!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” says Mikleo as Sorey hangs his Celestial Record over the edge. “What are you doing?”

“Something for you to read! Move out the way and use your water to soften the fall.”

Mikleo sighs dramatically, yet nods and shuffles right to the wall. Sorey slips the book down into the pit, Mikleo conjuring water to form underneath. It isn’t enough to soften the fall _completely, _yet it does help it to not land quite as heavily.

“All right,” says Mikleo, picking up the book in his hands. “Be quick.”

“Already running!” says Sorey, scrambling to his feet before doing exactly as he says. His hurried footsteps slowly fade into the distance.

Meanwhile, Mikleo slouches against the wall, feeling thoroughly miserable. Although as he opens up the page to a temple filled with the most beautiful waters, he manages to crack a slight smile, resting his injured leg out in front of him as he waits for Sorey’s return.

* * *

“Gramps had been so mad at us,” says Mikleo.

“Right? I thought he’d never stop shouting!” Sorey’s voice begins to mimic Zenrus. _“I do not want to hear that Mikleo needs to be saved from ruins _ever _again! Do I make myself clear?!”_

“If he hears you doing that, you’ll be dead all over again.”

Sorey grins sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “Yeah. Gramps can be real scary sometimes. But hey, even if you never did quite shift this habit of yours, at least I don’t need the other villagers to help me out anymore.”

“Fantastic,” says Mikleo sarcastically. Sorey grin grows amused, before he begins his search back around them.

Any other person, after inspecting blank walls for so long, would lose hope and patience quickly. Yet Sorey is far more accustomed to how ruins can be. There is always something among what appears to be nothing, tiny details which can be easily overlooked even when you have already searched a dozen times.

There are always answers to a puzzle. It simply takes time to find it.

“Got anything, yet?” says Mikleo.

“Ah, not yet. Sorry.”

“I’m going to die of old age.”

“You’re a seraph?”

“Exactly. Says a lot.”

Sorey laughs, shaking his head in disbelief. He peeks over the hole in the ground, finding that Mikleo is now playing with little bubbles of water to entertain himself. “How does a nice picnic by the edge of Elysia sound as a way to make up for this?”

Mikleo pretends to be more bothered by his bubbles than Sorey’s question, although there is no denying the curl of his lips. “I’ll bring dessert. It’s the only way to make any picnic of yours halfway decent.”

“If you say so.” Sorey hums as he traces the edges of stones on the wall. “Have you considered making a ladder out of ice?”

“… How light do you think I am?”

“Light enough for me to catch you with one hand?”

“The answer is not light enough that the ice I make is strong enough to support me that well,” says Mikleo. “I’ve been trying to construct ice that has a sturdy enough structure to carry me. But at the moment, anything which isn’t a huge block breaks. And I _am not _falling again.”

“That’s understandable. Let’s just see if there’s anything else here … There has to be _something, _right?”

Mikleo hums. His bubbles are now stacking on top of each other, forming little shapes in the air. “There better be. Maybe you’ll have to go get your grappling hook after all.”

“Let’s not lose hope yet.”

So as not to leave Mikleo in complete darkness, rather than take the candle which currently helps to give him even a little light, Sorey chooses to light a second one instead. He uses this to have a better view on what is around him.

It’d be far better if there were torches here. Yet almost as though people _want _you to get lost down this cold, bleak corridor, there are none to be seen. They would have no light at all if it hadn’t been for them coming here prepared. Or at least, prepared away from Sorey forgetting to bring one of his most useful tools.

They are admittedly lucky that Mikleo did not fall into a pit of spikes.

The thought causes Mikleo to both shudder, as well as also remember one more memory. “It’s a good thing that this isn’t quite as terrifying as _that _day was.”

“When we had just turned teenagers?” Sorey asks. He cannot see Mikleo’s nod in confirmation, yet knows this is how he responds. “Tell me about it. Never have I seen you freak out like that.”

* * *

Everything around them is shaking violently. Neither have experienced an earthquake where they live in the world, yet both know enough about the phenomenon to compare it to this experience. They assume that it is only here in these ruins that it is occurring, however.

Dust scatters above their heads, their hands shielding their eyes from pebbles which fall. These pebbles are soon to be far vaster. Rocks crash against the floor, causing cracks to form in the concrete.

“We’ve gotta run!” Sorey shouts, startling them both out of their trance; both have never experienced this scenario during their explorations before, or at least not to this degree. Mikleo nods, the two running the best that they can across the uneven flooring and fallen debris from above.

Their footing is not smooth or easy in the slightest. They trip and stumble, although eventually manage to keep themselves upright. It is difficult to tell how long this activated trap carries on for. Seconds of sprinting feels tantamount to minutes; with panted breaths, which inhales dust right into their lungs, they attempt to cross over the cracked flooring.

A moment of delay poses great risk. Mikleo finds this for himself as he stumbles over a rock, hissing as his elbow scrapes right across a ragged edge.

“Mikleo!” Sorey shouts, skidding to a stop and ducking his head to avoid a pile of dirt. He watches as Mikleo scrambles to his feet, Sorey making his way forward to reach out his hand, although a convulsive shake around them causes their fingers to fall a distance away from each other.

The crack in between them grows deeper, larger, and before he knows it, Sorey is crouched on the end of his far safer ledge as the floor begins to fall around Mikleo. He lets out a cry as he the floor underneath him jolts down, the pillar of rock splitting close to its base, bringing the rest down with him.

He could easily vomit when he dares to bring his eyes down and sees the pit of pointed spikes which lies at the bottom, sharp enough to pierce the smaller rocks which collapse onto them.

“Jump!” Sorey bellows, reaching out his hand, although he knew before he even tried that the pillar Mikleo is crouched on is that little too far for Mikleo to leap, even with his agility.

“This isn’t exactly how I wanted everything to end,” says Mikleo, letting out a forced laugh free of humour.

“Don’t go saying stuff like that; we’re finding a way out of this,” says Sorey. The eyes of a person with incredible intuition darts around the room; the answer arrives in an instant.

“What are you doing?” Mikleo asks as Sorey begins to swing his grappling hook, watching the other’s movements before his attention is brought to his platform again, his hands gripping onto the crumbling stone so tightly that the tender skin of his fingertips are grazed.

“Something reckless,” says Sorey, saying a quick, silent prayer as he throws the hook. Mikleo joins his gaze in following the blur flash through the air. It hooks itself in a crack on a boulder above their heads.

Despite how dire it is that he hurries, Sorey keeps a level head as he tugs at the grappling hook. One relief is found in how the boulder doesn’t break at all; it seems firm enough to stay in place even with weight added to it.

“All right,” says Sorey, holding onto the rope tightly in between his hands. Mikleo is paralysed as he watches Sorey jump down from the ledge, waiting with baited breath. Luckily, even the weight of his drop doesn’t shift the hook at all.

“Careful,” Mikleo warns, feeling as though his heart might beat out of his chest. He surprises himself by not fainting when his own platform gives another jolt. It threatens to collapse any moment, Sorey fully aware.

His boots plant against the wall behind him, using it as a means to force himself forward into a swing. He uses his legs to build up the force, each sway on the rope bring him closer to Mikleo. Mikleo steps forward onto his platform in a crouched position. One hand presses against the stone beneath him to keep himself steady, the other reaching out to Sorey.

Everything happens in one swift motion. Sorey bringing himself closer to Mikleo’s platform, his own outstretched hand reaching the other’s as he jumps; Sorey successfully catches him, his eyes immediately fixed upward to make sure their combined weights will not push their support to its limit.

“I think we still have time,” says Sorey, breathing heavily. “I’m going to pull you up higher. Wrap your arms around my waist.”

Mikleo nods, speechless from fear and adrenaline alike. He tenses his own arms as Sorey brings him up higher, Mikleo managing to shift his grip in order for him to hold onto Sorey. He brings his gaze back up once relatively secure, realising the two are still hanging in the middle of the air, way too far from the platform for Mikleo’s liking.

At least he is no longer on the one which has just collapsed into the pit beneath them.

“What now?” Mikleo asks.

“I’m going to try to pull us up a bit, then we swing and jump.”

“That’s a terrible idea.”

“I’d still choose it over falling down there, wouldn’t you?”

Mikleo glances down, greeted with an increase of nausea. “Good point.”

Sorey grins, before inhaling deeply as he tenses his arms to bring himself further up the rope. Mikleo cannot help but be impressed by how he manages to do so whilst somehow weighed down by Mikleo as well. Regardless, no amount of being impressed can prevent the panic caused by dust scattering down from above.

“Sorey …”

“I know, it won’t keep for much longer.” Sorey averts his gaze to the ledge. “All right, match my movements. We’ll make it.”

Sorey is the only one who can say this confidently. However, Mikleo still trusts Sorey’s knowledge far more than his own when it comes to using this thing. He mimics Sorey’s movements as the two swing the rope. Slowly, they manoeuvrer through the air, building up speed as they go.

The rock which falls past them from above kicks Sorey’s instincts into gear. With barely any warning, his arm wraps around Mikleo as he leaps. The wind blasts against their faces, a scream catching itself in Mikleo’s throat―time appears to stop.

It continues when they drop, gravity causing them to plummet; Sorey brings Mikleo closer as the two reach the ground. They roll across it, scattering dirt, before they finally come to a stop. A miracle occurs in how neither are harmed away from some scrapes.

“You okay?” Sorey asks breathlessly, looking down at the head which is buried into his chest. Mikleo nods, releasing the breath he has been holding. His head shoots around at the sound of the boulders on the floor above them finally break away; Sorey’s grappling hook falls with the rubble into the darkness.

Mikleo is springing to action immediately, holding his hand over a cut on Sorey’s cheek. A glow forms under his palm as he says, “Luzrov Rulay,” in a quiet voice.

“Huh?” says Sorey.

“Luzrov Rulay.” Mikleo raises his volume, unable to meet Sorey’s eyes. “It’s my True Name. Thought you should know.”

Mikleo might shrug off this confession as casual, yet Sorey knows better. Once the cut on his cheek has vanished, he takes hold of the back of Mikleo’s hand to bring it down, allowing him to place a kiss on its palm.

“I won’t forget it,” says Sorey. Mikleo finally meets his eyes, a shy yet warm smile appearing on his face.

They say as they leave that they should perhaps take a break from ruins for a while, yet tomorrow will bring yet another adventure.

* * *

“Luckily, we always seem to get out of situations like that _somehow,” _says Sorey.

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Why exactly _did _you end up telling me your True Name, anyway?”

Sorey inspects the ground with his candle as he waits for Mikleo’s answer. There is a moment’s pause, either from Mikleo needing time to think or simply out of embarrassment. Sorey suspects the latter.

“Well, you’ve saved me from traps more times than I’d like to admit,” Mikleo finally answers. “But this was the only time you actually saved my life doing so. I guess I knew from that moment that I could trust you with my life. I also …”

“Also what?”

Sorey grins over the silence. Able to read his childhood friend perfectly, he asks, “It was the moment you knew you loved me?”

“Flattering yourself as always.”

Sorey’s grin grows regardless, for he could easily tell the shift in Mikleo’s voice.

Their conversation has managed to spark inspiration in him. During all their times of exploring, they have come across a number of different tricks and puzzles. Sometimes they can be analogous to each other. The same torches needed to be lit, or stones to be pressed. Other times, it can be not as obvious.

Or sometimes so obvious that you completely overlooked it.

“I wonder …” Sorey says to himself. He returns to the stone he previously stood on, crouching down on the floor. He digs his fingers underneath the slab. A delighted laugh escapes him, eyes lighting up when he is able to lift the rather heavy stone out of its gap. Underneath are four smaller ones, without the same accessible slit around them.

“Earlier on, there was that pattern.” He takes out a small notepad from one of the bags attached to his belt, finding a note from earlier. A fingertip runs across it, before he presses each of the stones down in a certain order. “Whoa!”

He jumps back as the ground begins to rumble. Staring in astonishment, he grins widely as a chasm opens in the ground, a staircase revealing itself from otherwise ordinary pieces of stone. He is not the only one seeing a transformation; he hears a similar exclamation come from Mikleo.

“Guess you did something?” he shouts.

“Uh-huh! I win again today!”

Once the staircase is revealed, Sorey bounces down the steps. The corridor which has emerged leads to the area Mikleo has fallen down; he is now walking over, brushing dirt off his legs. He is distracted from the annoying stains by Sorey’s discovery.

“You can actually do things. Well done.”

“Excuse me, but _who _was the one who played with bubbles for an hour?”

“There’s a door here too,” says Mikleo, ignoring this statement to instead run his hand over the additional reveal.

“I thought you might want to head back after all that,” says Sorey.

“Are you kidding? I’m dying to move around, now. Plus how can we not explore this if you’ve just discovered it?”

“I’m right with you there!”

They reach towards the door together, pushing it open at once and revealing a place they have never once seen before.

As they venture through this revelation, they are followed by fond memories of the past, reignited by nostalgia.

**Author's Note:**

> I am posting for every day of the week again this year, although not with both art and writing like last time. I have five drawings and six written pieces (well, five if the two-part fic counts as one) to share!
> 
> Feel free to follow me under the same username as this AO3 account if you'd like to see the art side of things. See you again tomorrow!


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